Briefs - Newport News/suffolk/norfolk/west Point

NEWPORT NEWS - Gov. L. Douglas Wilder is scheduled to attend a recreational fishing event for more than 300 children at the James River Fishing Pier Saturday.

The Governor's Cup Chesapeake Bay Kids' Fishing Day, an event designed to teach children about the bay and fishing as a recreational sport, will be held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wilder is expected to arrive at 11 a.m.

The participants, from inner-city youth and social service agencies in the Tidewater area, have been pre-selected by sponsors. The public is not invited.

Civic and conservation groups are providing volunteers to teach the children proper fishing technique and conduct exhibits about marine life and the effects of pollution on marine habitat.

BOARD CLEARS WAY FOR ROUTE 460 WORK

SUFFOLK - The Commonwealth Transportation Board on Thursday voted to improve a section of Route 460 in Suffolk.

The board awarded a $297,000 contract to Rose Brothers Paving of Ahoskie, N.C., to widen a 0.7-mile stretch of the four-lane road, repave it and improve drainage.

The project, which starts about a mile west of the intersection of Business Routes 460 and 58, will provide left-turn lanes into Nansemond-Suffolk Academy and into Mount Zion Middle School. Construction is expected to start within a few weeks and will take up to four months to complete.

4 NORFOLK SHIPS JOIN NATO EXERCISES

NORFOLK - The aircraft carrier USS America and three other ships based at Norfolk Naval Base will join other NATO navies in exercises called ``North Star `91'' in mid-September, Atlantic Fleet NATO officials announced Thursday.

The 10-day training exercise starting Sept. 10 in the North Atlantic and waters off Norway will include surface, submarine and air operations, NATO officials said.

The exercises, which will include nearly 17,000 allied military personnel from the United States, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom, are designed to practice multinational coordination of maritime operations.

NORFOLK COMPANY TO FIX DRAWBRIDGE

WEST POINT - A $1.53 million bid by a Norfolk company to replace the drive mechanism in the Route 33 drawbridge over the Pamunkey River at West Point has been accepted by the Virginia Department of Transportation, officials said Thursday.

The bridge, which links King William and New Kent counties, is located near the Chesapeake Corp. on the York River tributary.

Blue Ridge General Construction Co. will begin working on the drive mechanism in the fall, and it is scheduled to be installed at the bridge in April.

W-JCC TREASURER SEEKS RE-ELECTION

Betty S. Pettengill announced Thursday she will seek re-election as treasurer for Williamsburg and James City County.

Pettengill, a Democrat, was first elected treasurer in 1987. She served as deputy treasurer for 16 years and has worked in the office for a total of 29 years.

A resident of the Stonehouse District in James City, Pettengill maintains offices in both the Municipal Building and County Government Center.

Pettengill said the collections system has been computerized in the last four years and that she has been ``aggressive in going after delinquent taxpayers.''

She also said the office has just begun using state employment records to collect taxes from delinquent taxpayers.